Resilience to coronavirus of emergency services

Andrew Dismore: How will blue light staff get to work in the event of restrictions on travel owing to coronavirus?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
There is currently no suggestion that restrictions on travel will be imposed. The maintenance of essential services to enable London to function is core to the principle of any emergency response. This includes our highly resilient transport network. I continue to follow expert advice, and there is no suggestion that we should restrict travel to such an extent that critical employees such as the emergency services staff cannot get to work.

Coronavirus impact [2]

Andrew Dismore: Has any assessment been made about the impact of a Coronavirus pandemic on London’s emergency service staffing levels and ability to respond to an emergency?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
All Category 1 and 2 responders have reviewed their Business Continuity arrangements and their pandemic preparedness, following the London Resilience Forum that took place on 6February. All organisations continue to review their plans in light of any new evidence and intelligence.
All emergency services, as Category 1 responders, have a statutory duty to have in place business continuity plans for events like pandemics.These plans are well prepared and tested.

Signing off sick for coronavirus (2)

Onkar Sahota: Gig economy, self employed people, and the very low paid are often not able to claim sick pay, which presents them with a choice between self-isolation and paying the bills. Will you raise this with the Government and employers and ask them to assure you that all staff in London will be able to follow public health guidance without impacting their personal finances?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
We all need to work together to protect the health of all Londoners, and all employers and employees need to ensure they are following all health protection guidance from Public Health England (PHE).
Some casual and workers on zero-hours contracts will be eligible for statutory sick pay and I encourage employers and workers to check their entitlement.
The government’s confirmation that statutory sick pay will be paid from day one is welcome. But at but at £94.25 a week it has the potential to disrupt the incomes of the most vulnerable groups. I urge the government to go further in their support for the most vulnerable.
I remain concerned that many people in London may not be eligible.The government is still not doing enough to support these groups and I will continue to raise the issue. I will also use my ongoing engagement with employers to promote good employment practice.

Public health lab capacity to address coronavirus

Onkar Sahota: Are you concerned that the move of the public health laboratory out of London has affected our ability to react to the coronavirus outbreak?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
Public Health England (PHE) are world leading experts in their epidemiology work. Their ability to have established a testing capability for a new virus and have completed over 26,000 tests within such a short time frame is an incredible feat. Their main testing laboratory has been based within London for COVID-19 and they are developing more localised testing facilities to increase the capacity of testing in more laboratories across England all the time.
Their swift response to research this new virus and provide a clear testing regime for the protection of the UKs residents has been excellent, and the location of their testing facilities has not inhibited this response. Within London the NHS have established 12 Community testing facilities, 19 drive-through facilities and 12 home team testing facilities to support their ongoing testing for COVID-19.

NHS readiness for coronovirus

Onkar Sahota: What discussions have you had with London and national NHS partners about responding to coronavirus?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
Through the resilience arrangements in place to respond to COVID-19 my Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, Dr Fiona Twycross AM,who is one of three co-chairs of the Strategic Coordinating Group, is in daily discussion with both the NHS and Public Health England (PHE). Through the robust resilience arrangements we have in London we receive a daily briefing from the NHS about their response to COVID-19.
In addition, I have also met with the Chief Medical Officer and held my Mayor’s Advisor Group of which senior representatives from NHS London were also in attendance.
All resilience partners are actively engaged in the resilience response structures we have in place ensuring that they receive the latest intelligence and information on a daily basis and can raise issues that require a multi agency response. All agencies are working to a joint response strategy focussed on minimising the impacts of COVID-19.

Signing off sick for coronavirus (1)

Onkar Sahota: NHS workers on outsourced contracts are often not able to claim sick pay for the first three days of illness, which presents them with a choice between self-isolation and paying the bills. Will you raise this with NHS partners? Will you raise this with NHS partners and ask them to assure you that all staff, whether directly or indirectly employed, will be able to follow public health guidance without impacting their personal finances and to ensure the continued resilience of NHS services? And will you ask them to assure you that all staff in London, whether directly or indirectly employed, will be able to follow public health guidance without impacting their personal finances and to ensure the continued resilience of NHS services’?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
We all need to work together to protect the health of all Londoners, and all employers and employees need to ensure they are following all health protection guidance from Public Health England.
Employers have a specific statutory duty of care for people’s health and safety at work and should look at how they can support the financial wellbeing of their staff, so that sick people have time to recover and the rest of the workforce and community are protected. The government’s confirmation that statutory sick pay will be paid from day one is welcome. But at £94.25 a week it has the potential to disrupt the incomes of the most vulnerable groups. I urge the government to go further in their support for the most vulnerable.
I am aware that many services in the NHS are delivered through outsourced contracts and I will raise this as part of my ongoing resilience discussions with the NHS.

High bed occupancy before coronavirus

Onkar Sahota: What discussions have you had with the NHS about reducing bed occupancy, which is above safe levels in many hospitals, in readiness for a potential influx of coronavirus patients?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
Through the resilience arrangements in place to respond to COVID-19 my Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, Dr Fiona Twycross AM,who is one of three co-chairs of the Strategic Coordinating Group, is in daily discussion with both the NHS and Public Health England (PHE). Through the robust resilience arrangements we have in London we receive a daily briefing from the NHS about their response to COVID-19.
As part of our response structures, a dedicated Health Oversight sub-group has been established, led by the NHS. The group includes PHE, Local Authority Directors of Social Care and the voluntary sector. Part of the work of this group is to maximise the discharge of patients and enable capacity within specialist units for the response to COVID-19. The NHS have also briefed on their plans to further increase capacity within their wards to provide the best possible response to the outbreak.

Self testing for coronavirus

Onkar Sahota: What discussions have you had with NHS partners about enabling self-testing for coronavirus along the lines of the Sexual Health London service now offered?

The Mayor: This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
Through the resilience arrangements in place to respond to COVID-19, my Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, Dr Fiona Twycross AM, who is one of three co-chairs of the Strategic Coordinating Group, is in daily discussion with both the NHS and Public Health England(PHE).
These agencies are focussing on maximising capacity to conduct timely and accurate testing and have established a testing capability for a new virus and completed over 26,000 tests within a very short period. If these experts determine that it is necessary to develop a self-testing service, I will support them however I can. Within London, the NHS have established 12 Community testing facilities, 19 drive-through facilities and 12 home team testing facilities to support their ongoing testing for COVID-19.